Residents of three emergency accommodation units on a property in Gladstone Road badly damaged by fire on Thursday night have been left with nowhere to go, on top of losing much of what they owned in the fire, the cause of which has been treated as probable arson. Picture by Liam Clayton
Fire gutted one of six units in a block of emergency accommodation flats, and extensively damaged the two either side of it, in a blaze on Thursday night.
It is being treated as a “probable” arson, say police.
Fire and Emergency NZ sent two crews to the property at 509 Gladstone Road,
next to the Bella Vista Motel, at around midnight.
“The unit where the fire started was fully involved when we got there,” a senior firefighter said.
“Flames had spread into the adjoining units either side of it as well through the roof void.”
The other three units in the block were not affected.
“The unit where it started was gutted, and the other two were extensively damaged by fire and smoke,” he said.
A resident in one of the adjoining units told the Herald yesterday morning that they were woken up by people yelling.
“We ran outside, saw what was happening, grabbed the kids and got out of our unit,” she said.
Her mother lived in the unit where the fire started.
“Fortunately mum was out for the night.”
Other whānau members lived in the unit on the other side.
Everyone got out without any injuries.
“We were just so relieved that everyone’s OK,” the resident said.
She said they were not sure where they could go from here for accommodation.
“We don’t even know where to start.
“We’re hoping our landlord will be able to help us find somewhere else to go.
“Meantime, we’ve lost everything in the fire.”
Police mounted a scene guard on the property overnight pending the arrival of a specialist fire investigator called in to try to ascertain how the fire started.
Police have an arson inquiry under way.
“It appears some sort of an accelerant was introduced at the scene,” a CIB spokesman said yesterday.
Police have been speaking to witnesses.
The fire crews were there for two hours dampening down the remains.
A people-mover vehicle owned by one of the occupants of the units was damaged by heat from the blaze.
It was pushed out of the way before it could be damaged further.
Firefighters said they will be looking into whether or not smoke alarms were installed and operating in the building at the time the fire started.
